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This is a very rustic bread using roasted baby red potatoes and roasted sweet potatoes. For the red potatoes I mashed them up and added them skins and all. You can see some whole pieces of potato sticking out in the crumb shots below.

I used fresh milled whole spelt without sifting and rye which I sifted with #40 mesh and after re-sifting the hard bits I added them back in after the final mix was complete.

The potatoes added approximately 148 grams of water which is not indicated in the formulas hydration, so this was a much higher hydrated dough than it appears.

I also added some freshly made Greek Yogurt to add some softness to the crumb.

I was very pleased with the flavor and crumb on this bake. It was nice and soft and chock full of flavor with a moderately open crumb. Definitely one worth making again.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, barley flakes, potatoes,yogurt and 85% or so, of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 1 hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), olive oil and the rest of the water and mix on low for 4 minutes. Now add the remaining sifted bran back into the dough and mix for a few seconds. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. (If you have a proofer you can set it to 80 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1 hour (Spelt tends to proof very quickly, so if you don’t use Spelt I would leave the dough out for 1.5 to 2 hours). Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take about 1 hour depending on your room temperature (if not using Spelt it will take 1.5 to 2 hours). Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 520 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

This is the first bake since returning from my business trip to Germany. I had a nice trip, but unfortunately as usual I brought back the “Black Death” with me and it took me a good week to start feeling normal again, not to mention adjust to the East Coast time zone.

My wife has been dying to try making yogurt in the Instant Pot so after she finally made enough yogurt to feed a small army I decided to make use of some of it in a bread.

This bake has almost 70% fresh milled and sifted flour. I added some rye bran sifted out previously in the levain which really makes my starter go bonkers.

I left the shaped dough go longer than needed and it was slightly over-proofed. I really expected the crumb to be much more open on this one as the dough was nice and fermented before shaping but alas it was not to be.

The yogurt made for a super soft crumb and added a little extra tang to the flavor profile. All in all a tasty bread, but due to the over-proofing, not one of my prettiest bakes. The scoring did not open up like it should have and it may have had something to do with the less open crumb as well. Did make great bread for a nice chicken salad sandwich I made last night for dinner.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours , yogurt and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 1 hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and olive oil and mix on low for 4 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature. Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

This was my second bake of 2018. The first one I attempted to make some baguettes using a formula I adapted from German Rolls but increasing the whole wheat flour. Needless to say it was a disaster and hopefully my worse bake of the year :).

For this bake I used a nice % of fresh milled high extraction spelt flour with a little fresh milled rye and the balance KAF Bread flour. I made some polenta for dinner the other night which included a little butter and cheese added in and used the left-over cooked polenta in this bake.

The spelt always is a challenge due to its low gluten content and this dough was highly hydrated and sticky. I didn’t take my own advise I gave another fellow baker and let this over ferment. The dough spread out more than I would have liked and there is a slightly dense bottom crumb. Overall it does taste pretty good with a nice tasty thin crust and nutty flavor from the spelt. The addition of the polenta adds a nice subtle flavor to this one as well and the Greek yogurt didn’t hurt the crumb either, which was moderately open and moist.

This would make a great grilled bread and some tasty sandwiches as well. Baking it in the oven last night while it was 5 degrees F. outside was a pleasure just to open the oven door and feel the blast of heat :).

I’m off to Vegas for the CES show tomorrow, so I froze most of it to have when I return at the end of the week.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 1 hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), Greek Yogurt, cooked polenta and olive oil and mix on low for 5 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 hours. Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take 1 to 1.5 hours depending on your room temperature. Since this dough has Spelt in it which tends to ferment very quickly, I would not let this one sit too long. Better to bake it a little early to get better lift.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

These were made as gifts for some of my office colleagues. I ended up keeping one for tasting purposes :0.

I used hand milled durum and whole wheat both sifted and a little KAF bread flour. The ricotta was added for some extra softness and that combined with the olive oil made for a nice smooth dough. I added some smoked and black sesame seeds as a topping and on 2 of the breads topped it with some melted cheese.

The bread turned out great with a nice nutty flavor from the durum and a soft crumb.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, ricotta cheese and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 1 hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and olive oil and mix on low for 5 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. (If you have a proofer you can set it to 80 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature. Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

I finally had a chance to sprout some grains and mill them with my new Mockmill II. I bought some Einkorn a while ago and was saving it to sprout. I love the nutty flavor that the einkorn flour imparts and the sprouted and sifted flour is amazing.

I decided I needed to stock up on some rolls and wanted to add some creamy grits to the mix along with some fresh high extraction rye and whole wheat. Just to take it over the top some Greek yogurt was added to give it an even softer crumb.

Someone on one of the Facebook groups I follow had suggested coating rolls with polenta so I tried using the grits the same way by coating with an egg wash and then sprinkling on the grits. I also used some smoked black sesame seeds and toasted onions as toppings.

These came out as good as I could have hoped for. The crumb is nice and open and soft and the combination of flours and fat made a great tasting roll.

Levain Directions

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Grits Directions

In a medium sauce pan turned on medium high, mix the grits with the butter to coat and then add the water and stir until the water is almost evaporated and the grits start getting thick. Take off heat and add the cheese and mix thoroughly Let the grits cool down to at least room temperature or put in the refrigerator covered and use when ready.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours , Greek Yogurt and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 1 hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and cooled grits and mix on low for 5 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. (If you have a proofer you can set it to 80 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and shape dough into rolls around 135 grams each. Place the rolls on cookie sheets and cover with either a slightly misted tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with oil to prevent sticking. Let the rolls rest and rise for around 1.5 to 2 hours until they pass the poke test.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, using an egg wash paint the rolls and apply your toppings as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 435 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the rolls are nice and brown. I used two sheet pans and rotated them half way through the bake.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before eating if you can resist :).

This is the first bake after using fresh milled flour from my new toy, the Mockmill 200. My wife was nice enough to buy this for me as a present and I couldn’t be happier. I have the Kitchenaid mixer attachment Mockmill but this new stand-alone version is so much quicker it’s well worth the investment.

I decided to use a mixture of whole wheat and rye both freshly milled and sifted with my #40 sifter. I re-milled the sifted out bits once more and sifted one more time and ended up with only a small amount of discard which can also be used to add into your levain for added flavor. The fresh flours were mixed with a small amount of KAF French style flour and some ricotta cheese and grilled left-over onions.

This one came out great and my taste testers at work devoured the loaf I brought them in record time. The combination of the whole wheat and rye with the onions really made a great sandwich and/or grilled bread or just plain old toast.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and water (hold back around 50 grams of water for later), together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for at least one hour. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and ricotta along with the rest of the water and mix on low for 4 minutes. Next add the grilled onions and mix for about a minute until they are incorporated. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. (If you have a proofer you can set it to 80 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature. Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

I don’t like drinking coffee, but I do like the flavor in food including bread. I thought the nice nutty flavor of freshly ground and sifted spelt flour would go well with the earthy coffee flavors and I wasn’t mistaken.

I added some Greek Yogurt to soften the crumb a bit and also some real Vermont Maple Syrup to add a touch of sweetness.

This ended up with a nice subtle coffee flavor and tasted as good as I expected. The crumb was moderately open and soft as desired.

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and coffee together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes. Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), Greek yogurt, and maple syrup and mix on low for 5 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. (If you have a proofer you can set it to 78 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the dough and shape as desired. Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature. Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.